Dull Aches
by TwistingMoonbeam
Summary: Losing his leg had hit Hiccup hard. But it was living without his leg that was much harder. He was beginning to miss when running was possible and every step didn't bring pain. R&R!


Hello friends! Here's another one-shot. A little dark, but I've always been fascinated with this aspect of HTTYD and Hiccup's character. Hope you enjoy!

**Dull Aches**

He'd never forget that moment when he'd realized what had happened.

He'd just woken up from a who-knows-how-long sleep/coma. Toothless had been ecstatic, prancing around his bedroom and leaping up to the ceiling rungs. He'd winced from the noise of the dragon's excitement and had made a move to get up from his bed.

A coldness filtered through his left leg, powerful and chilling. He'd stopped, surprised, and lifted the blanket off his lower body.

Everything had slowed down after that. He stared, emotions swirling together like storm clouds, ready to crackle with lightning bolts of utter disbelief. Hesitantly, he moved his legs to the floor.

Or really, his right leg, and his left hunk of metal.

Losing a limb in Berk wasn't a rare occurrence—if anything, it was an honor, one of the best battle scars one could receive. But it only happened to adults—he couldn't recall a story that detailed a teenager losing a limb. Was he the first? The youngest?

His breathing quickened. _No, no, don't panic, don't—_

Toothless somberly came to him, sniffing the prosthetic before rising to meet his eyes.

He glanced away before looking back at the dragon with huge eyes. His lips, dry and noodley, parted to ask _Really?_, but he just puffed air out. _I gotta . . . keep it together. _He took a deep breath and stood, balancing himself with the end of his bed.

It didn't feel so bad. At least he could still walk, there was that, right? He took one step forward, first steps were always the most important—

Pain, in every part of his frame. It wasn't just his leg that hurt—that one step had sent a shockwave of pain through all of his bones. The prosthetic was too long, making his one leg too tall for the other. He recovered with a cringe, suddenly feeling dizzy.

But one look at Toothless gave him enough strength to just want to try again. He sucked in another, deeper breath and took a longer stride.

_Bad idea. _The pain was astronomical that time, so bad he lost the very strength he'd just gained and his body became jelly. But Toothless was there to catch him, straightening up so that he could too. He slowly began to limp forward toward his bedroom door, Toothless guiding him with one wing draped around his shoulders.

"Thanks, Toothless," he mumbled.

They reached the door, and he put one hand on the wall as he used the other to force open the door. Light blinded him, and he was suddenly falling, _wind whipping his hair back like he was flying. . . ._

**..9.**

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III burst awake from sleep like a popped balloon. He was sitting up before he was consciously aware of it, his lungs pumping out breath that froze into fog. "Why is it so _cold_?" he muttered, sweat dripping down his temple.

His room was silent, with the exception of his rapid breathing and Toothless's snores from the floor. Hiccup grasped for his blanket and found it near the end of his bed, not even on his body. No wonder he was so cold. Winter in Berk wasn't his favorite time of year.

Hiccup pulled his blanket up to his chin but still found himself shivering. That was the eighteenth time he'd dreamed about The Moment. He couldn't understand why his mind just didn't let it go—it had happened two months ago. Berk seemed to have moved on: his father, Astrid, Gobber, and Toothless were still protective of him whenever he walked, and for that he was thankful. Walking was still agonizing, but he refused to tell anyone. He'd leave painful moments for when he was alone.

Hiccup sat up in bed, frowning. No way he was getting back to sleep, and he knew it. As quietly as he could, he limped over to his window, blanket curled around his shoulders, biting his lips to force down tiny squeaks of pain. He finally got situated on his window seat, and he sat back with a sigh, gazing out the window.

The night was still and dark. The sky was starless, the moon hovering over the island like a watchful, creamy eye. Chirps and coos softly bounced off the trees. Hiccup snuggled into his blanket and smiled. Nights like this were hard, but as long as he could keep his head, he would be fine, leg or no leg.

A loud yawn caught Hiccup's attention behind him. Toothless was awake, stretching and blinking sleepily at him. He trotted over, his expression curious, with just a hint of concern.

"Good evening," Hiccup murmured, scratching the dragon's head. "Why're you awake, buddy?"

Toothless put his head in Hiccup's lap, gazing up at him with knowing green eyes.

Hiccup sighed, his head falling back against the wall. "Yeah. I had the dream again."

The confirmation earned a whimper of sympathy. Toothless always got like this whenever Hiccup had nightmares. "I'm fine, though, see? Nothing to worry about," Hiccup said, attempting a smile.

_Smack! _

"Oww!" Hiccup hissed, holding his temple. He glared at his dragon, who stared back with a disbelieving expression, his tail hanging limply behind him. "That was unnecessary." He sighed. "But you caught me. I'm very far from fine." His hand gingerly went to the cold as ice metal that was his new foot. "It hurts. And I just keep dreaming about it. It's bad enough having nightmares about the Green Death . . . I don't need nightmares about my own reality, y'know?"

Toothless cooed sadly, almost agreeing.

"I don't think I've ever told you this," Hiccup started quietly, "but I'm really sorry I shot you out of the sky that night. I'm sorry for snapping off your tail fin. I didn't mean to. You know that, right?"

The dragon blinked at the boy, then he shook his head and nuzzled against Hiccup's face.

Hiccup chuckled, scratching Toothless's chin. "I figured as much. Thanks, buddy."

**..9.**

Morning dawned much earlier than Hiccup would have preferred. He had fallen back to sleep at his window that night, and as he yawned and stretched, he found a passed-out Toothless in his lap. It was rare that he woke up before Toothless—normally the dragon was eager to fly this early. Cringing under his weight, Hiccup snuck out from under the dragon's asleep black form and gently arranged the blanket under Toothless's head to make him more comfortable.

"You'll probably be awake soon anyway," Hiccup whispered as he changed into his usual green shirt, "but at least you're comfy now."

After he was dressed, Hiccup went downstairs in search of breakfast. He hadn't eaten dinner the night before—his father was away for another meeting and he'd been out late catching fireflies and stargazing with Toothless and Astrid. Grabbing bread, he opened the front door, sighing with content at the rosy sky and bright sun. The tranquility in the air was also tangible.

Seconds later, something poked him in the back, whining.

"Morning, Toothless," Hiccup whispered, desperate not to shatter the peace of the morning. "You're hungry, aren't you? Wanna go get breakfast?"

The dragon shuffled forward, pushing Hiccup forward as well. The boy laughed quietly. "Okay, okay. You lead the way."

Toothless and Hiccup took off, scooping up fish from the surface of the sea. The air was crisp and clean, the clouds puffy. Hiccup grinned at the feeling of the wind rushing past his hair, his ears going numb but his insides warm. After collecting enough, the two retired to the Cove. As Toothless ate, Hiccup sat against a rock twice his size, doodling in his sketchbook.

It was a particularly windy day on Berk. Hiccup had noticed while they were flying—it had been harder to maneuver Toothless to be low enough to the water to snatch fish without diving right in. The pages of his sketchbook fluttered and Hiccup pinched his lips together to keep his doodle tidy. Suddenly a powerful gust knocked his book right out of his hands.

"Oh no!" he muttered, rising. The book tumbled away, and Hiccup tried to run after it, but instead he was limping. He still wasn't entirely used to walking and running hurt. He limped as fast as he could, but the wind dropped his beloved sketchbook into the pond that was in the Cove. Groaning, Hiccup dove in after it.

The water was cold, but Hiccup was too focused on his book to care. He squinted through the speckles of dirt and squiggles of grass and located his book at the bottom of the pond. _It's probably heavy with genius, _he joked mentally. Hiccup kicked to the bottom, his stomach touching the muck, and picked up his book.

As he spun to kick to the surface, he found his foot unable to move. Glancing down, he saw that the curve of his prosthetic was tangled in a clump of vegetation. He pulled and tugged, but he was tightly stuck.

Hiccup's lungs were about to burst. His eyes burned and his chest felt like it was being wrapped in iron gauze. He gave another mighty kick, but his vision was darkening and his body felt weak. Just as he let go of the vegetation, something clamped down on the back of his shirt and yanked him out of the pond.

He fell back onto the dry ground, coughing up his intestines. Hiccup held his aching chest and spit water out of his mouth, his teeth chattering from the temperature of the water. Blinking, he looked up at Toothless, who was staring down at him in worry and sniffing every inch of his body.

"Tooth—Toothless," Hiccup wheezed. "I'm okay, I'm okay."

The dragon didn't believe him. Toothless whined and whimpered, checking his neck, his face, his chest. Hiccup reluctantly sat up, holding Toothless's face in his hands. "Ah—okay, ow," he moaned. He shot a glare at his prosthetic leg. "Ugh, stupid leg. Almost cost me a lung or two." He held up his soggy sketchbook, dripping, pencils marks smudged and running down the side of the cover. Hiccup sighed heavily. "Looks like I know what I'll be asking for next _Snoggletog_."

Toothless whimpered again, appearing concerned. "I'm okay, buddy," Hiccup reassured, smiling. He made a move to get up, but as he took a step forward, Hiccup cried out in pain and buckled, Toothless catching him. "Bah—maybe . . . I may not be as okay as I thought," Hiccup hissed. "Something's wrong with my leg. We've—we've gotta get to Gobber."

The ride back to the village was long and excruciating. His prosthetic pounded with pain with every heartbeat, and it felt like Hiccup was getting a fever. By the time they landed outside the forge, Hiccup barely had the strength to stumble off Toothless's back and cry Gobber's name. As he fell to his knees, the second-father came to the window, wiping a dagger with a cloth.

"Hiccup!" Gobber yelled in alarm. He sauntered outside, hands on the boy's shoulders. "Whas wrong? Wha hurts?"

"M-My leg," Hiccup stuttered, nervous. "It burns."

Gobber led Hiccup by the waist inside the forge. "Where have ya been all mornin'?"

"O-Out with Too-Toothless." Hiccup wanted to rip off his sleeves, he felt so hot. "We were getting breakfast. We went to our Cove, and I was in the pond—my l-leg got caught on some grass or something, and Toothless had to pull me out."

"Alrigh, take it easy," Gobber soothed. "Ya prob'ly just irritated it—I've got some medicine for that."

Hiccup sat against the sword sharpener as Gobber messed around with plants and vials of pink liquid. Toothless forced the door open and laid in front of the boy, ears creased back in worry. "I'm f-fine, buddy," Hiccup said, scratching the dragon's head. He tried to smile but his fever made him too dizzy.

"M'kay, this should do tha trick," Gobber said triumphantly. He kneeled down, a purple liquid sloshing around in a glass he held. "Roll up ya pants."

Hiccup did as he was told, and was shocked to see the skin that connected to his prosthetic a bright, angry vermillion. His head spun from the sight and the pain, and Hiccup let his head fall back against the sword sharpener, muffling his moans behind his hands.

"Ahhh." Gobber nodded, his unibrow becoming a "V." "Infected. Probably when Toothless yanked ya up. Whatever was holding your leg had it tight, and the sudden tugging must have irritated tha skin. Alrigh, boy, this'll sting."

Gobber poured the purple gunk on Hiccup's enflamed skin, and it felt like he had just gotten kissed by the sun. Hiccup yowled into the crease in his elbow, tears rising to his eyes. He arranged his bangs so that Gobber or Toothless wouldn't see.

"Keep applying this every few hours," Gobber ordered, standing. "And stay in bed. You should be better in a day o' two."

Hiccup nodded and wiped his tears against his leafy green shirt. "Thanks, Gobber."

The blacksmith gave Hiccup a knowing look as the boy struggled to his feet. "Hiccup . . ." Gobber smiled softly at him, eyes gleaming. "Crying don't make ya a baby, ya know. You can cry in front of meh whenever ya need to. I know . . . I know how it is. The pain, I mean. It's . . ." Gobber swallowed. "It's bad. Especially for you . . . a boy so young."

Hiccup's expression went from anguished to stunned. His eyes shone with tears again and his tiny nose was red. "Gobber . . . thank you. That . . . that means a lot. I dunno, ever since I was little . . ." Hiccup sniffled. "I've never wanted my dad to see me cry. I thought he'd think even less of me."

"Oh trust meh, back then, that probably wasn't possible," Gobber said bluntly.

Hiccup wiped his nose and rolled his eyes. "Thank you for summing _that _up."

"But also trust meh on this," Gobber continued, grinning. "Ever since you battled tha' Queen Dragon . . . he practically glows with pride now."

Hiccup's heart lit up like a lantern. "Thank you. For telling me that."

"Awww, enough of this sappeh stuff," Gobber snorted. "Go on home an' rest. Ya can't train dragons if you're missing even more of your leg."

Hiccup nodded, and with Toothless's help, wobbled out of the forge, beaming under his hand.


End file.
